Scottish House Condition Survey

The Scottish Government has published a number of reports160using160data collected by Ipsos for the160Scottish House Condition Survey.160This is a national survey that links the physical condition of Scotland's homes to the experiences of its householders with over 3,000 interviews and physical surveys conducted each year.160160

The Key Findings Report 2009160includes key statistics on the number of households living in fuel poverty, the number of dwellings failing the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS), the energy efficiency of dwellings and other key descriptors of the occupied housing stock in Scotland. The Local Authority Report contains similar figures but at local authority level covering the three year survey period 2007-2009.

Currently, estimates of Fuel Poverty at local authority level are based upon three years survey data, currently 2007, 2008 and 2009. Although the housing stock overall does not change rapidly measures based on fuel prices do and so our figures, which centre on July 2008, are considered to provide an out-of-date estimate of fuel poverty. The Scottish Government have developed160a methodology for160estimating current levels of160fuel poverty, using the data from the SHCS while factoring in160likely changes in income, fuel prices, and the energy efficiency of the housing stock.160The Updated Fuel Poverty Estimates (UFPES) report describes this method. (This report is classified as data being developed.)

Ipsos Scotland has conducted the fieldwork for the SHCS on behalf of the Scottish Government since 2007. The SHCS is the single largest housing research project in Scotland. View the reports on the Scottish Government website.160